“It’s the people who have the most who have the most anxiety about not having enough.” — Walter Brueggemann [1]
Renowned Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann shared those words when speaking of Pharaoh’s nightmare about the seven fat cows devoured by the seven skinny cows and the seven good ears of grain that were swallowed up by the bad ears in Genesis 41. His point rings true. We often seek to accumulate more and more to relieve our anxiety about not having enough. But often, the more we gain, the more anxious we become. I have consistently found generosity to be the most effective response to my fear of not having enough.
[1] Brueggemann, Walter. “Conflict from Above: The Drive for Accumulation.” Lecture presented at the School for Leadership Training at Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, VA, January 16, 2012.
Link: https://emu.edu/now/podcast/category/school-for-leadership-training/